kylermrice wrote:

Well properties aren't as cheap as they where in 07-08.  Used to buy brand new in Florida for 35,000 back in the day, now your lucky if you can get something close to that for 100,000. 

That's not an economic fundamental as far as I'm aware. Big Johns statement was "Economic fundamental is (are in) place that indicate the…[Read more]

kylermrice wrote:
We aren't going broke….. 

The US prints money to pay the interest on the money it printed into existence since 2008.

Dude you're broke. You just haven't accepted it yet.
 

Look out I'm coming through….

I imagine the tenancy agreement will be rather complicated.

There's an old saying and it kind of relates to newbies who are sometimes overawed by the shear amount of knowledge they need to acquire to become functional at investing.

How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time.

Start small and simple. Your first reno should be a simple facelift. Paint, clean, tidy yard, fittings and fixtures, maybe…[Read more]

alfrescodining wrote:
Well I'm going to budget $20,000 for the retaining walls, because I have no idea how much they might cost if they're masonry. 

Get a meter rate (X height) from the suppliers. Ask about returns.  Budget on 40 meters incase of curves shaping etc. You can get general labourers for $20/hr. Don't use labour hire companies…[Read more]

My question is what happens to the value of the land with the original house on it?  Would it decrease because
there is less land?  And as a rough guide, how much would it decrease?

As rule yes and by the value of the new unimproved block. However once a development is completed the original property can regain some or all of it's value if the…[Read more]

Follow Derek's advice on this. He knows this stuff backwards. I'm and amateur when it comes to property development. I've been out of that game a long time.

Part of early stage business development is acquiring the components you need (investors, credibility, experience, knowledge, strategic relationships, network relationships etc) and assembling them into a cohesive entity. 

You really need to sit down and figure out what you need, when you need it, how much you need at various stages etc and plan…[Read more]

I get the feeling you're try to rush it a bit. Building a stable of investors takes time as you build credibility. My thinking is to be a little more patient during this growth phase.

I suggest you sit down and look at this as purely a business and build a business plan around what you're doing. You don't seem to have a clear business development…[Read more]

The person becomes a border in reality. It can be dodgy as its easy for them to skip out. The other option is to rent to them and sub rent back a room (at whatever price if any) as when its needed The rental deal would be difficult to describe in a complying(state rental law) contract I would imagine.

You could also become joint tenants in your…[Read more]

There are syndicates that do do OK over time but you really need to have form good solid relationships for these things to work. One of the complications these types of groups run into is functioning by committee. Getting decisions made can be a nightmare at times. Hell look at government for an example.

TheFinanceShop wrote:
My vote for tip of the year. I actually learnt this the 'hard' way with one of my developments.

Regards

Shahin

Only way to avoid that is to over engineer it structurally which is costly.

Another way to avoid heavy footings is reduce the height of walls (hence wall load on footings) by terracing. That can leave you…[Read more]

The more experienced developers here might be able to confirm if this is feasible or not but you say this property is beside a Uni. Then why don't you design 1 – 2 properties with a dorm design in mind. IE all bedroom have an ensuite and mini kitchenette bar type option (small bench with bar fridge underneath and capacity to plug in small cooking…[Read more]

Big John wrote:

http://www.citydata.com – this is fantastic.

????   Page lists the domain for sale

From your first link.  Just a few salient points.  Fairly accurate I thought.

Systemic global economic turmoil, hobbled credit markets, and government deficits, meanwhile, will continue to restrain anxious industry leaders who downplay chances for a faster-tracked upturn amid uncertainty. Investors discouraged about stratospherically priced core…[Read more]

A tip when you do long run walls. Over time they tend to walk and bulge out of line. You can mitigate this by curving walls or changing angles as in a zig zag style. 

I'm assuming your building to sell so esthetics will be important. I'm also assuming you'll do nothing until you're at the landscape stage.

The ground is fairly solid and height really isn't an issue so stacked masonry is probably you best bet all round. I say that because on your site a stacked interlocking stone/brick style has an indefinite…[Read more]

It seems like a fairly descent chunk of land. Is it subdividable/developable. What are your intentions for it? The reason I ask is that will have some bearing on how you go about this and what style will suite.